A study found a reduced risk of first-ever venous thromboembolism (VTE) among individuals who had high serum levels of omega-3 fatty acids in comparison with people who had low levels.¹

Venous thromboembolism, which includes deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary (lung) embolism, occurs in nearly 10 million people worldwide each year.

“In this population-based cohort, higher serum omega-3 PUFA concentrations were associated with decreased risk of future incident overall venous thromboembolism,” authors Magdalena Johansson and colleagues concluded. They reported that the association was most pronounced for deep vein thrombosis and venous thromboembolism provoked by such incidents as surgery, trauma, heart attacks, and severe infections.

Among individuals whose serum omega-3 fatty acid levels were among the top one-third of subjects, the adjusted risk of developing a VTE during follow-up was 28% lower than the risk experienced by people whose omega-3 levels were among the lowest third. When provoked VTE events were analyzed, men and women who had an omega-3 level among the top third had a 38% lower risk of VTE and a 39% lower risk of deep vein thrombosis, compared with individuals whose omega-3 levels were among the lowest third.

The current investigation included 17,087 adults enrolled in the HUNT Study, a Norwegian follow-up study that conducts repeated health surveys of inhabitants of the Nord-Trøndelag region of Norway. Banked blood samples were analyzed in 2019 for total omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. People in the current study enrolled between August 2007 and June 2008 and had no previous occurrence of VTE. Between enrollment and the end of 2019, 340 individuals had a first-ever VTE event, including 222 provoked VTEs. Deep vein thrombosis occurred among 150 men and women and pulmonary embolism occurred in 190 individuals.